Lantern in the Snow [closed]

[Treijim]

Darinian finally looked at Colin, but his face was shadowed and his eyes were dark and tired. He was frowning deeply and his eyes darted very slightly back and forth between Colin's eyes, as though searching for an answer. This continued for at least a minute, which is a great deal of time when the world is silent and thoughtless, and then his eyes widened in realisation. He looked back to the man on the bed and yanked back his sleeve. With a surprisingly tight grip he took hold of the man's bare forearm. There was a strange tingling in the air, and the man on the bed began to spasm and convulse. After just a few moments, he stopped moving, mouth hanging open and eyes rolled back. He was still.

Darinian quickly took both of Colin's shoulders and shook the boy, saying, "That man was not your father. Don't dare weep for the bastard." Then he was silent a moment longer, allowing the news to sink into Colin, because the boy was undoubtedly confused. "Your father was shot with arrows. This man has no such wounds. He also ha--"

He stopped when the door burst open and a gale wind blew into the room, attacking the fire and candle by the bed. There was a tall figure in the doorway, and he stepped into the room and closed the door. His long cape settled back to the ground as a two daggers slipped out of each sleeve and into each hand.

"Well lookie," said the man with a tilt of his long head. He brushed back tangled black hair and smirked. "What have we got here? Figure it out, did you? Pah, crazy old fool!"

"This was not the deal!" Darinian said, standing. "What happened to the witness, assassin!"

"Seems that way, dun'it," said the assassin man. "I can think of three other witnesses who won't escape, though." His sharp black eyes shifted to Colin. Darinian stepped a little to the side.

What happened next was a loud blur. The assassin made some sort of thrusting gesture, and there was a flash of light. Darinian was quick to react. He flicked his arm up and all the papers and light objects in the room jumped off the ground. There was a dagger stuck in the wooden ceiling. Darinian reached up and pulled it out, wielding as his own. The wind magic had thrown the assassin off, so Darinian ran in to attack.

=====================

The man smirked strangely at Aidan, and tilted his head back, as though the boy had done the wrong thing and he wasn't sure how to proceed. Then his grin widened a little and he lifted his gaze, as though meeting the eyes of one behind Aidan. Strong arms reached from behind the boy and grabbed both wrists, yanking them behind his back. The first man came in close and held Aidan by the collar of his shirt, breathing something foul into the youth's face.

"On second thought, I'll just take everything ye got. How'zat sound?"

[lolong. Aidan's foes are mercenaries. Moderately dangerous, and quite ruthless]

[laurabeth]

He let out a cry of terror after Darinian grasped his father's arm. He soon found himself in a standing position as he watched the horror of the dying man. When the seizures subsided, Colin's mouth mirrored the expression of his eyes: open wide in confusion and fear. He tried to shout at the older man, but nothing emitted. Then Darinian grabbed him and shook him, yelling facts that slid off his brain instead of sinking in. Did that mean his father was dead or alive and well? Colin couldn't understand.

His head snapped to the door as the mysterious man entered. A fresh layer of goose-bumps spread across his body as the chill air entered the room. After the men had discoursed, what little color left in Colin's pale face drained as the newcomer looked straight at him. Colin's arms fell numb to his side, and he felt a strong force push against him as the two men attacked each other. He fell backwards and landed on his hip, lifting an arm to shield his face from whatever other blows might come.

[Ethereal Panda]

Caught off guard by the other man, Aidan twisted and squirmed trying to break free of his grip, but his efforts were fruitless. Disappointed in himself for letting another person sneak up on him, he lowered his head for a moment in defeat. "How did I manage to let another one sneak up on me", he thought. Shaking self-belittling thoughts from his mind for the moment, he reasoned the wind was too fierce for him to have heard the other man sneak up.

Aidan raised his head to meet the eyes of the mercenary. With the initial shock beginning to wear thin, his temper took it's place. While maintaining a calm cold stare with the man, he stretched his arms backwards to bring himself nose to nose with the first man. He tilted his head slightly and quietly growled, "Take everything, huh?" He slowly reared his leg back, "Then start with this." Balancing off the man holding his arms, he swung his leg with all of his strength aiming between the mercenaries legs.

[Treijim]

The assassin glanced the mage's thrust aside and responded with a powerful kick. Darinian took it to the stomach and staggered backwards, but with a surprising show of stamina he dove right back into the thick of it. Darinian and the assassin exchanged numerous dagger thrusts and parries. The assassin began to aim for Darinian's vitals, but the old man seemed knowledgeable enough to predict the stabs and avoid any damage. Frustrated, the assassin feinted a left-handed stab and spun around Darinian's right, shoving a dagger in the man's back with frightening speed. With a cry Darinian pulled himself forward, away from the dagger, in the fear that it may have been poisoned. They both stopped for a moment. Fortunately, the assassin showed no signs of wanting to harm Colin.

"You bastard," Darinian said roughly, wincing. He was now between the assassin and the door. "I should never have associated myself with you!"

The assassin tilted his head but said nothing. Darinian held out both his hands. His foe knew he was about to use magic, but he could do nothing to stop it. A fierce gale rose from the floor and swirled into the ceiling, carrying anything lighter than a chair up with it. The fire was snuffed, the room plunged into blue darkness, and the assassin covered his face with his arms. Then the floorboards beneath him tore up with a splintering sound and Darinian stepped aside and swiped his arms past. The assassin was thrown out of the room and into the freezing cold outside.

Darinian pointed to Colin, "Stay there!" And he ran outside to chase his opposition.

[Of course, you don't have to listen to him. Water magic can be quite useful in the freezing cold, eh? ]

=====================

The mercenary found himself unable to stand, or release the clutch on his groin. He had toppled into the snow and was grinding his teeth. Steel-capped boots hurt.

The second mercenary, however, was quick to respond. He let go and stepped back a bit so he could draw a short sword as he ran forwards again. However, the sword had stuck to its sheath from the ice, and he could not pull it free. Aidan stepped aside and the merc tripped over the boy's foot, finding himself also in the snow. He was soon landed on by an assassin, carried by even colder winds.

Darinian emerged from the falling snow, looking at the three men on the ground, and then at Aidan in disbelief.

[Just so you know, they're all down, but they're far from injured. Don't let your guard down yet]

[laurabeth]

Colin stumbled back from the gusts of winds, trying to piece together his jumbled thoughts. After the assassin was blown from the building and the injured Darinian gave chase, the boy turned to look at the face of the deceased man before running out of the building. He did not feel like 'staying there.'

Once outside, it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, for even though the small cabin was dark, it was not quite as dark. Ice and snow hit his face as his breath caught in his throat. He blinked rapidly, and his eyelashes collected fragile flakes of snow. It seemed that he could feel every drop of water hit his face and bare hands, even though the cold had made them almost numb. It was then that he noticed the pile of men, and Aidan and Darinian standing a ways off from them.

The melted snow on his hands began to pool in his palm, and harden to ice. He winced and shook it out of his hand. An idea dashed across his thoughts, causing his eyes to almost glow and then flicker out. He lifted both palms, which filled with snow rapidly and then became balls of ice just as quickly. Armed as he may, he pulled back his arm and hurled the ball at the head of the assassin on the top, which, upon contact, made a sharp cracking sound. With the other he repeated the motion, this time wearing a satisfied, boyish grin.

[Ethereal Panda]

Aidan took a few steps back to put some distance between himself and the attackers. As he approached Colin, he smiled and gave the boy a nod of approval for his antics. He scanned behind the boy checking for anyone lurking in the shadows. Satisfied that Colin was safe for the moment, Aidan repositioned himself between the boy and the three assailants.

He looked to his side to see Darinian a short distance away. Although he still distrusted the man, he knew now was not the time to be choosy with one's allies. With a blend of frustration and anger, he opened his coat and rashly drew the dagger from his left thigh. Assuming a fighting stance, he twirled the long knife in his left hand and positioned it so that the blade faced outwards from his body.

With a tone of sarcasm in his voice, Aidan turned to Darinian and inquired, "Friends of yours? What's the plan?"

[Treijim]

[lol your signature, Laura]

Darinian looked at Colin with stern disapproval, but he made no effort to stop the boy.

"They're no friends of mine," Darinian said to Aidan, giving him an equally serious look. It seemed that the dagger he took to the back no longer bothered him. Either that, or he'd healed himself so subtly that it went unnoticed. "But they're not leaving this town alive..."

The three men stumbled to their feet. The assassin had a line of blood running from his forehead to his chin, thanks to the snowball. Though they seemed battered, they also seemed determined to fight it out.

"Shouldn't you be lookin' for that kid's father instead?" teased the assassin. "The man's mad. He's sure to suck the life out of someone else if he's not stopped." He looked at Aidan in an eerie eyeballing manner. "Aint you too small to be a merc? Eh, let's find out!"

And he leaped up into the air with little effort, somersaulting once before landing behind Aidan and aiming a deadly reverse thrust for the boy's back. Darinian went to help, but was distracted when the other two men threw their daggers at him. One struck his leg and the other missed him by a hair.

[laurabeth]

Colin took a few wary steps back as the assassins stood from their positions. He knew that throwing more balls of hardened snow would be too dangerous now--hitting Aidan or Darinian would make the situation even more grave. He watched in awe as the one assassin addressed Aidan, and nimbly jumped up to attack. His breath, which was coming out in wispy clouds, quickened as he widened his stance, his knees bent slightly and securely and his arms at his sides. His eyes were on the assassin's feet. Suddenly, everything seemed to move in half-time as Colin narrowed his gaze in concentration. He raised his right hand towards Aidan's attacker, his elbow straight, before closing his hand tightly and pulling his elbow in towards his side.

The deep snow on the ground, which was displaced and light from all the movement, quickly hardened about the man's feet. He staggered on the spot. Colin rushed up to him in both anger and delight of success, and planted a hard kick to his shins. His small pale hands curled quickly into even smaller fists. "Don't," he said, punctuating each of his words with a quick jab to the man's ribs, "You. Hurt. My. Friend."

[ <_< >_> <_< >_> ]

[Ethereal Panda]

Without thinking or glancing behind himself, Aidan lunged forward in hopes of dodging whatever attack the assassin had in store. However, a sharp pain in his back instantly told him he had been somewhat unsuccessful. He stumbled a few paces, kicking the snow around haphazardly in an attempt to not fall on his face. In the moments he took to regain his balance, a whirl of thoughts passed through his mind. Was he already dead, he wondered. As a warm trickle of blood ran down his back staining his coat, he distractedly contemplated what story he'd tell his mother.

Refocusing on the events at hand, he turned around to see Colin assaulting the assassin both physically and verbally. Colin's distraction was probably the only reason the assassin's attack wasn't fatal. The humor of the sight quickly wore off as Aidan addressed the danger the boy was now in. Although he'd never consider attacking someone so dangerous, something drove him forward. He took off full speed toward the man, knife in hand. For a reason unknown to Aidan, he found himself willing to risk his life for this boy.

Although it was only a short distance, Aidan took a curved path so as to not trample Colin. Reaching one arm out forward, he grabbed the assassin by the shoulder. Rearing back, he thrusted the blade at the man's abdomen, placing all his weight and momentum behind it.

[Treijim]

The assassin cried out as the small fists jabbed him. The initial kick, of course, rendered his body trembling with pain. He bent like a twig as the blade plunged into the man's firm gut. He coughed blood and his teeth were stained with red. Then he was on his back in the snow. With a few shudders and gasps, he paused and did not move again.

Behind them, the two other men were on the ground. One of them was barely recognisable as a man. Like a statue of a battle-weary warrior, Darinian stood over them. He was short of breath, with his hands on both bent knees, and staring down at the ground. Then he collected himself and held out both his hands, one at either man. The snow began to shift and cover them, moving out from underneath at the same time. Some dirt also rose to the surface, indicating Darinian intended on burying them deeper than just under the snow. Once he was finished, he walked over the fresh snow and stood over the assassin. He didn't acknowledge the presence of either boy for some moments.

Then he uttered some words to the younger child; "Where is your father?"

[laurabeth]

Wide blue eyes were focused on the dead man before them, dark black spreading around the body and soaking into the ice and snow. They blinked painfully, the cold wind stinging them. He lowered his head against the blast of frigid air, squinting his eyes open in time to see the two other assassins disappear under the deadly blanket of snow. A dead weight hit the bottom of his stomach as he realized the sort of death they would endure.

Darinin was approaching him now. Colin looked up, his face chapped and stinging from the pelting elements, and bravely looked into the man's eyes. The question was ironic to him, because he had followed the man in hopes of asking the same thing--and receiving an answer. He opened his mouth to speak, his breath coming out in opaque vapors before being blown away. "I don't know," he said softly, his breathe quickening, "but that man," he paused to point at the only dead body exposed, "said something about him. Said something about sucking the life out of people."

A gust blew by, which caused him to flinch and lower his head into his chest again, his arms lifting to block the icy winds from stinging his face. When it had passed he looked back up, and then to Aidan, "Did he say anything else? I can't remember..." The cold and his exhaustion were chipping away at his determination now, making his voice sound even more feeble.

[Ethereal Panda]

Aidan's eyes were wide with shock. He looked down at the man on the ground and then back to the crimson stain on his dagger. He just stood there, not fully grasping what had just occurred. Never having killed someone before, he somewhat childishly hadn't considered what would actually happen if his attack succeeded. He suddenly found himself nauseous.

The action had pulled free his hair, and it was now blowing wildly in the wind. He quietly took a few deep breaths of the icy air and began to try to calm himself down. His heart was still racing as he leaned over the assassin's body. With his hand's shaking, he wiped his dagger onto the pant leg of the now deceased man and then sheathed it.

Beginning to regain some composure, he rose and looked down to Colin. Giving the boy a quick glance over, Aidan was satisfied that he wasn't injured, at least not physically anyhow. Reminded of the wound in his back, he noticed it didn't hurt anymore, but he could tell it was still slightly bleeding. Trickles of blood splashed in the snow laid as a reminder of his close call.

Thinking back to what the assassin has said, he recalled the man saying something about Colin's father being crazy, but he decided it was best not repeated for the time being. Trying to raise a brave voice, he looked away from Colin and replied, "I don't remember either. But, if he's still in the area, we should try to find him."

[Treijim]

"Sucking the life out of people," Darinian repeated. "Only when there is nothing left to do... Your father killed a man." He was looking down at Colin now, his eyes, thick eyebrows, and nose only visible. Snowflakes were rested upon his hood and shoulders, and he had pulled up a scarf-like item around his lower face. Aidan said something and Darinian glanced across at him. He furrowed his brows deeply. Then he turned back to the old cabin and motioned for them to follow. The assassin's body had seemed to begin to sink into the snow of its own accord.

Inside, everything had been turned over due to Darinian's previous example of indoors wind magic. It was dark and dead cold. All the corners of the room were lost in shadow. He went to the fireplace and breathed sparks into it, quickly setting it ablaze again.

"You, boy," he said, pointing at Aidan. "Patrol the area. Make sure there is nobody out there and make sure there is nothing left in the snow... Now."

"Where would your father go if he was hiding from officials?" he asked Colin as the boy entered the cabin. "Who would he turn to? Would he remain in hiding? Would he try to contact you? Would he kill another to hide his previous crime?" He was staring at the fire and didn't seem to care what state Colin was in, though his questions were impetuous at the very least. "My reputation is at risk. You must tell me what you know."

[laurabeth]

[hai gaiz. I've been thinking about it so I'm going to skip through this a bit~]

After Darinian had posed the questions, Colin stood in silence staring at the wall behind the older man. His eyes were wet, glowing bright in the firelight. The old man's questions only sowed more inquiries inside his mind. Why had his father come? What sort of business did he take care of? A tear slipped out of his eye and slid down his flushed face.

For a long time he kept silent, staring at the wall and blinking tears out of his eyes. He opened his mouth to talk, but then closed it again. His small shoulders lifted slightly in a defeated shrug. "I don't know," He said, pausing before he had added, "sir." He looked up to Darinian. "You think he did something bad? I know he went places but I don't know what he did at them." His face scrunched up in sorrowful determination. A few moments passed before he worked it back into place. He repeated, "I don't know!" Then turned, folding his arms. His small body began to quiver, but, for the sake of all little boys, he refrained from crying aloud.

[>D>]

[Ethereal Panda]

Aidan had started to slip off his coat after re-entering the cabin. His intent was to check on his cut, but Darinian's command interrupted him. With a roll of his eyes and an aggravated sigh, Aidan yanked his coat back on and headed for the exit. Approaching the door, he paused due to Darinian's barrage of questions targeted at Colin. After Colin had fell silent, he began to feel conflicted. He was not one to be tender, but Aidan felt he couldn't leave the boy like this.

He took a few steps to stand behind Colin's back. He knelt down on his left knee while unlatching the dagger from his right. "You were strong out there tonight," he commented. Aidan hooked the sheath of his dagger to Colin's belt and strapped it loosely around his knee. "Hang on to that strength just a little longer. We'll get to the bottom of this." He placed a hand on the boys shoulder, attempting to comfort him. He then stood and headed for the doorway.

Stepping back outside, he found that bitter cold had patiently waited for him. Not exactly sure what "patrol the area" meant, Aidan wandered around being careful not to stray too far from the cabin. He trudged through the snow looking for anyone still out in the town, be it Colin's father or anyone for that matter, but it appeared the cold kept people in the warm shelter of their homes.

His mind kept replaying the events that had just past, but he concentrated on blocking any retrospective thoughts for the time being. Sleepless nights would leave plenty of time for that. He sighed after finding no sign of life except a few candles flickering in windows, and turned around to make his way back to the cabin.